Kyiv, pro-Russian rebels failed to agree on a new round of peace talks

(QHA) -

Ukraine's government and pro-Russian separatists have failed to agree on a new round of peace talks, but Ukraine's military says it will prolong a 24-hour cease-fire agreement.

Ukraine's former President Leonid Kuchma -- Kyiv's envoy in talks with Russia, separatists, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- said on December 10 a new round of negotiations should not be held in Minsk in the coming days because separatists had violated a previously agreed cease-fire deal.

Kuchma was quoted by Interfax as saying, "In a situation where the second party is unable to ensure the cease-fire regime, I do not consider this meeting expedient."

He also reportedly said the separatists should "show that they really want peace and not war, and that they fully control their armed formations."

Denis Pushilin, the envoy for separatists in Donetsk, told Interfax on December 10 that Kuchma's remarks confirmed Kyiv is not interested in obeying a September 5 Minsk peace accord and cease-fire deal.

That cease-fire deal has been broken on a daily basis, with more than 1,000 people being killed in eastern Ukraine since the accord was agreed upon in the presence of mediators from Russian and the OSCE.